1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related generally to pistons for internal combustion engines and more particularly to pistons for opposed piston internal combustion engines.
2. Related Art
Typical opposed piston internal combustion engines include an inner piston which has a combustion surface that faces away from the crankshaft and an outer piston which has a combustion surface that faces towards the crankshaft. In operation, both the inner and outer pistons are connected to the same crankshaft and simultaneously transfer power to the crank shaft in response to a fuel and air combustion in a combustion cylinder between the combustion surfaces of the inner and outer pistons. The outer piston typically has a crown portion, a skirt portion and a pin boss portion. A wrist pin is received within the pin boss portion and extends radially outwardly on either side of the piston for receiving a pair of connecting rods to interconnect the outer piston with a crankshaft. Current designs of outer pistons for such opposed piston engines typically include a number of separate pieces, for example, up to eight, which are all joined together through pins, bolts and other removable/non-permanent connections.